


Aid

by misterdenouement (onlythebest)



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, esme's only mentioned but i added her into the tags anyway?? i dont know how to do this ok, implied abusive relationship, jerome is hurting both metaphorically and literally and its jacques to the rescue, op cried seven times while writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-22 02:47:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14299101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlythebest/pseuds/misterdenouement
Summary: Jerome's gotten hurt in more ways than one, so he takes the most logical course of action- he calls a taxi driver.





	Aid

His fingers still ached, even after the night had passed and the sun had bled into the sky. What little sleep he had managed to get had done nothing to ease any of the pain he felt, both on his body and in his mind. So he did what any sensible man would do.

He called a taxi driver.

Not to go out somewhere. Oh no, for that he would just call for a taxi. Jerome Squalor called the taxi driver, because there was a specific person that he wanted- no, needed- to see. 

Jacques Snicket.

He called him at noon. Esmé wasn't going to be back until well after nightfall, perhaps later, so there wasn't any risk of her coming back before Jacques left. Jerome knew that she didn't take kindly to visitors that weren't rich, or famous, and God forbid they weren't in. 

Jerome hadn't thought that he had sounded very upset on the phone, but the speed of the other man's arrival and the concern on his face that Jerome saw when he opened the door for him immediately caused him to reconsider. In that brief moment, his mind cast back to what had happened the previous night. Perhaps it had been worse than other times, he couldn't remember the last time she’d-

A jolting pain shot through his right hand. Right, his fingers; the primary reason he had called Jacques to come over. 

“Come in,” he said, a slight tremor in his voice betraying his hurt.

Jacques brushed past him and seated himself on the pinstriped sofa, revealing a small white container. Somehow, Jerome’s heart both swelled and dropped when he recognized it as a first aid kit. The latter was more noticable, the guilt of causing another to worry about him beginning to settle in his chest, but there was still comfort in knowing that there was somebody in the world who cared about him. 

“Show me your hand.” Jacques’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet, yet not without its usual firmness.

Without a word, Jerome raised his right arm, presenting to Jacques his smashed fingers. Their change in appearance had stagnated, no longer rapidly swelling or burning in pain but instead a simple black and blue, the pain no longer piercing but instead just a dull ache. He could swear that he heard Jacques’s breath hitch upon seeing them, his expression flickering into one of even deeper concern before returning to vague worry. He opened his mouth slightly, almost as if to say something, before closing it again and turning to the first aid kit, quickly producing a small roll of gauze bandaging. 

Clearly having dealt with similar injuries before, Jacques made quick work of healing Jerome’s wounds. The two remained quiet for the duration, and only their quiet breathing could be heard as it echoed throughout the hallways of the enormous penthouse. As Jacques completed taping the last bandage, his eyes slowly studied the rest of the bandages on the others’ hand and finally looked up into his eyes. 

The following question was even quieter than his previous speech; almost a whisper, as if he was trying to conceal something. “Why did this happen?”

Jerome averted his eyes to the ground and let out a soft chuckle before replying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your fingers, Jerome.”

“Oh,” Jerome said, sorely attempting to feign ignorance, “That was the cat.”

“Jerome, you know as well as I do that you don’t own a cat.” 

“Well, you can’t really know that for sure now can you, what with this giant penthouse having so many rooms, and not to mention that-”

“Jerome.”

Jacques’s voice sounded different with his uttering of this one word. Although it was just as quiet as the rest, it felt as if its volume was the equivalent of a wall crashing down. With a pang, Jerome realized that it was. Without trying, he had managed to break down one of his closest and only friend’s emotional wall. He made the mistake of looking up to meet the other’s stare. There was a single tear glistening in one of his eyes; tiny, but present nonetheless.

“I’m so sorry-”

 

“Tell me what happened.” Jacques’s interruption was almost silent, wavering, almost as it if it would break at any moment.

Jerome sighed and closed his eyes, resolving to tell his friend the truth. If Esmé found out, he knew that he was done for, but in this moment, he knew that the most important thing for him to do was to be honest about his problems. Perhaps it would help more than it would hurt.

It took him several tries before he was finally able to get the words out. Even then, they still shook, revealing how unsure Jerome felt. Unsure of what he wanted and needed. Unsure of Jacques’s reaction. Unsure of if he really deserved this- any of what he had been forced through.

“...It was Esmé.”

Those three words went straight to Jacques’s heart.

“I’m so, so, sorry.” His words were whispered, but they held a great deal of emotion all the same. “You shouldn’t have to go through this.” He pulled him into a hug and spoke again. “She’s supposed to love you… this isn’t love.”

 

Jerome, who had begun to cry quietly, responded between quiet shuddering sobs. “I know.”

The two remained in their embrace until Jerome completely calmed down. Things were violent and dangerous while Esmé was around, but in this moment, everything was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> this is baby's first fanfiction, please tell me how i did so i can improve!


End file.
